Foreign Ministry: Russia never opposed Ukraine's 'European choice'

August 29, 2013, 14:37 UTC+3Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson urged the EU not to distort reality in connection with interpretation of possible scenarios of Ukraine's socio-economic development

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Photo ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Pochuev

MOSCOW, August 29 (Itar-Tass) - Moscow has urged the European Union not to distort reality, noting that it has never objected to Ukraine's "European choice".

"We're urging the EU not to distort reality and give not emotional, but objective and economically justified evaluations of the scenarios of Ukraine's socio-economic development after signing the Association Agreement," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexander Lukashevich said on Thursday."We'd like to underline that unlike EU politicians who never tire of criticizing our neighbors’ interest in Eurasian economic integration, we've never come out against Ukraine's 'European choice. Moreover, in the Declaration on Eurasian economic integration of November 11, 2011, presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan inherently formalized our “European choice” as well, expressing themselves in favor of strengthening the comprehensive, mutually beneficial and equal collaboration with the EU with prospects of creating a mutual economic space, in favor of mutual rapprochement of integration processes in Euro-Atlantics and Eurasia”.

“I can tell frankly: we were surprised that in the recent days several ranking officials of the European Commission at one started to blame our country in all but racketing Ukraine, striving to make it join the Customs Union (CU) and then the yet to be created Eurasian Economic Union (EEU),” Lukashevich said. “The essence is that Russia is said to be by all means interdict Ukraine from signing a beneficial Association Agreement with the EU and ‘draw’ Kiev in the CU by means of threats and economic levers.” The diplomat stressed: “It is characteristic that the EU makes its cornerstone not the interests of Ukraine’s citizens, but geopolitical concerns, and fears “loosing Ukraine”, as said by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton.”

"A draft Ukraine-EU agreement, recently released on the Internet, made it clear why work on this document, which had continued for many years, had been kept secret," the diplomat said. "Even superficial analysis of the document showed the agreement envisaged no real advantages for Ukraine, but leads to the de-industrialization of the economy of Ukraine which might be turned into a mere market for commodities from EU," Lukashevich said.

"We do not seek to impose any decisions on Ukraine. The Ukrainian leadership and the Ukrainian people should make all the decisions themselves. We have been guided by the declarations made by the Ukrainian president and its government that Ukraine seeks to continue and develop mutually advantageous economic contacts with the states of the Customs Union and strengthen industrial cooperation with them so as not to lose its share on our markets.

"But the terms of the Association Agreement (in the form the agreement was published) do not make that possible because of the terms of the Association Agreement proper, rather than Moscow’s evil plans,” Lukashevich said.